From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Slater drains the life out of Andersen's classic story in this bland and much-altered retelling. Mickey Mouse is cast as the faithful attendant who brings the nightingale to Emperor Chu. An unnecessary rivalry is created between Mickey and the evil prime minister, Li-Ying, who presents the ruler with the mechanical songbird. Much of the meaning of the story is lost; Li-Ying takes on most of the bad character traits that were originally the emperor's. In typical Disney high melodrama, Mickey rescues and frees the caged songbird, who eventually comes back to sing away Death as it hovers over the emperor. The cartoon illustrations are from the Disney archives, and most of them look like rough drafts, not finished art. Nancy Ekholm Burkert's version (HarperCollins, 1965), Demi's (HBJ, 1988), and Lisbeth Zwerger's (Picture Book Studio, 1984) are all faithful to the original story and provide better illustrations. --George Delalis, Oakland Public Library, CACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more
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